Canadian Broadband → Re: ISP for Westend (Bayshore area) Ottawa

I would suggest you take a look at Start Communications for Cable and DSL...
Website... »www.start.ca
DSLR Forum... »Start.ca
Start MAY announce some new cable plans "real soon now".

Electronic Box offers DSL in Ontario...
»www.electronicbox.net/en ··· net.html

Or choose Ottawa at this site, select your desired service type, and Search for more providers...
»www.canadianisp.ca/cgi-b ··· rch&p=ON
Go to an ISP's own site for details on their plans. CanISP is just a quick summary site, and some details may not be current.

Compare speeds, usage caps, start-up costs, monthly costs, other features (free off-peak usage?), Plan-change fees, etc.

And you may want to check out the ISP's privacy policies. Some are 'under review' right now, based upon recent copyright developments.

Also what's the big difference between Cable and DSL, is one faster and more reliable then the other? I assume that my location may play a factor is the availability of one or the other.

For download speed, Cable is faster by far. Rogers 2nd slowest tier is the same speed as Bell's fastest tier.

For upload speed, it's a bit of a mix. DSL in Ottawa has 2 upload speeds: 1Mbps and 10Mbps. Cable ranges from 0.25Mbps to 10Mbps. I'd give a slight edge to DSL on this, as 10Mbps is available on multiple packages, while with Cable it's only on the most expensive one.

Reliability for each depends entirely on the area. I can tell you that both cable and DSL have been reliable where I am in Ottawa, but you really need to hear it from someone in the Bayshore area.

Cable is generally cheaper for similar download speeds.